Once upon a time, there was a hotelier and his raw data

Hotel CRM and customer loyalty

Dear hoteliers, greetings!

Today we’re going to look at a topical issue that our predecessors in the hospitality industry didn’t have to consider: 

Tailoring the stay.

Why is it so important to ensure that every stay is a unique experience for your guest?

BECAUSE THAT WILL BRING HIM BACK!

According to a study reported on the oysterlink.com website , 80 per cent of people who return to the same hotel do so because they had a personalised experience.

Your customers are now looking for special moments in their lives.

This may be down to the 2020 lockdown, social media showcasing idyllic locations… The fact is that it is no longer enough simply to run a standard property with good bedding and a hearty breakfast.

Let’s take it a step further! A simple breakfast served with a smile, featuring dishes that cater to the traveller’s dietary preferences, will earn you a better online rating than a varied and expensive meal.

In fact, 68% of your guests are willing to pay more for their stay in order to receive personalised service.

But then, is personalisation – that privilege of small hotels that know their customers inside out – doomed to remain out of reach for large properties?

It is always possible to find lessons for the present in the old tales of the past. The Experience team has delved into ancient grimoires and unearthed this story, just for you.

Once upon a time…

Once upon a time, in the little town of Paris, there was a much-loved innkeeper.

He was helped by his wife, his children and the forest animals. 

His inn was enchanting.

His wonderful wife welcomed the weary travellers, whilst his children carried the luggage, looked after the horses and were on hand to attend to the guests’ every need.

All this whilst the birds and rabbits kept the inn spotlessly clean.

His highly renowned business attracted a clientele that was both pleasant and diverse.

And the innkeeper, keen to welcome all the good folk seeking rest, did not hesitate to give them his own bed when the inn was full.

One winter’s evening, his dear wife, tired of sleeping in the stable – because, yet again, her bed had been taken by a guest – decided it was time for a serious chat with her husband!

The innkeeper, distressed to see his wife so angry, spent the night trying to work out how to do better. He didn’t want to let his customers down, but his wife’s love was just as important.

Early the next morning, it suddenly dawned on him: the solution had come to him in a dream. He ran to his sweetheart to tell her about his plans for the future: he was going to buy a second inn!

The whole family was over the moon. Some extra happy travellers meant that the family members could keep their rooms.

Before long, the premises opposite were purchased.

The renovations were completed in high spirits.

The new inn was beautifully inaugurated.

As the owner’s reputation is well established, the hotel is filled with equally pleasant guests.

However, the family, who had been hoping for a happy ending, were immediately disillusioned.

The receptionist who’d been taken on didn’t have the same “drive “welcome” as the boss. The room and luggage porters didn’t run as fast as the heirs.

And the animals that cleaned the bedding did not have the expertise of their colleagues on the other side of the road.

The customers left, dissatisfied. And both inns began to empty rapidly.

The innkeeper’s wife slept in her own bed every night, but at what cost? Bookings had halved and travellers no longer stayed once night fell.

It was then that a fairy godmother called Experience paid a visit to the good wife, who was dwelling on her misfortune.

The magical creature gave the landlady a box, telling her that all her problems would be solved if she followed the instructions to the letter.

The innkeeper’s wife had to open this enchanted cube every day on the reception desk at both of her properties. And her staff had to place their hands on it every morning before cheerfully starting their shift.

So desperate that she would have done anything, the kind lady took great care to follow the instructions to demonstrate her good faith.

Before his astonished eyes, the receptionist, the bellboys and the forest animals began to glow with joy and set about looking after the few travellers with a magical enthusiasm.

Customers could not stop singing its praises, and both inns became even busier than before. 

The corridors were buzzing with activity.

Packed with new guests, but also regulars who simply couldn’t bear to leave!

The innkeeper, overjoyed, went to see his wife and asked her, “How did you manage that, my dear?”

His wife then told him about her encounter with the fairy godmother and the help she’d given her.

When the innkeeper went to examine this enchanted artefact, he saw three unexplained letters engraved on the side: 

C.R.M.

And that’s how Experience came into being!

You’ve recognised the story.

Not the fairy tale, but the other one. The one you experience every week.

You know your regular guests inside out. You know that Mr Lefebvre always chooses a room overlooking the garden, that Mrs Chen doesn’t eat gluten, and that this couple are celebrating their wedding anniversary in May. 

However, as soon as you run a large hotel, or are part of a hotel group (whether independent or franchised), that collective memory which was once your strength simply vanishes. It cannot be passed on. It cannot be delegated. It disappears along with the person who answers the phone that day.

That is exactly the problem that the fairy godmother (that’s us!) had realised: it isn’t a team issue. It’s a problem of institutional memory.

And a hotel CRM is precisely this kind of memory: structured, shareable and accessible at any time. Much to the delight of your teams!

CRM for personalisation

As you will have realised, what makes personalisation easier for you and your teams, whilst enabling you to grow, is Customer Relationship Management.

With this software, you can ensure a unique experience for your customers.

And there’s no secret to it: a traveller who is welcomed with everything they’ve requested in advance, who can communicate easily with the staff, and who receives a small gesture tailored to who they are, is a loyal customer.

Just imagine: 

• The businessman who finds a card in his room with the Wi-Fi password and a list of partner taxi companies
  
• The mother who walks in to find a fully assembled travel cot and a bottle warmer
  
• A couple who are given a leaflet listing the most romantic restaurants in the area
  

These little gestures cost you nothing, but they pay off handsomely.

But how, in practical terms, does hotel CRM make all this possible?

These three examples are not down to luck or an exceptional team. They are the result of a well-coordinated data chain. Here’s what happens behind the scenes:

The Centralised Customer Profile
As soon as a booking is entered into your PMS, Experience CRM captures it, enriches it and links it to a single guest profile. Even if that guest has stayed at several of the group’s hotels, or booked via different OTAs (gone are the days of using carrier pigeons to make bookings). This helps you avoid duplicates and errors.

Automated pre-stay survey
A few days before arrival, a personalised message is automatically sent to the guest to gather their preferences: dietary requirements, reason for the stay, estimated time of arrival, and any specific needs. This is where you find out that your business traveller needs a taxi at 6 am – even before they’ve put their suitcase down.

Behavioural segmentation
CRM helps you categorise your customers into actionable segments: families, couples, business travellers, VIP customers, customers who have been inactive for the past six months… Each segment receives a tailored message, at the right time, via the right channel (email, SMS, WhatsApp).

The Guest App
During their stay, your guests can interact with your hotel via an app that reflects your brand: view available services, contact reception, place orders and leave feedback in real time. You can take action before dissatisfaction turns into a negative Google review . The innkeeper’s wife would be proud!

Time to say goodbye
Once the stay is over, the CRM takes over: satisfaction surveys, requests for reviews on TripAdvisor or Google, and the automatic triggering of rewards based on the number of nights stayed or the amount spent. Customer loyalty cannot be imposed; it is built up, stay after stay, through data.

Your teams don’t need a phenomenal memory. They need a tool that provides them with the right information, at the right time, even before the guest arrives. That’s what a personalised hotel guest experience at scale is all about.

The innkeeper in the tale had everything he needed to succeed: talent, a good reputation, and the ambition to grow. What he lacked was a system capable of ensuring his legacy lived on beyond his own lifetime.

You don’t need magic. You need a hotel CRM system connected to your PMS, which centralises your customer data, whether you manage one property or fifteen.

That’s exactly what Experience CRM does. And unlike the magic box, we explain how it works.

See you soon!